We’ve posted repeatedly about the federal junk-fax law, which authorizes lawsuits for $500 apiece for inadvertent participation in unsolicited sending of faxes (and $1500 apiece for knowing violations); lawyers have learned to roll together class actions so as to generate million-dollar class actions against unsophisticated local businesses who weren’t aware of the law’s application to them (Oct. 22, 1999; see also Dec. 15, 2004; Mar. 19, 2004, Jul. 19, 2003, etc.). Now the Internet and Class Action Law Blog, published by a Naperville, Ill. class-action attorney, takes note of the phenomenon — not merely as an annoyance, but as a business opportunity. “Damages in these cases can be very large. If a blast fax has 50,000 recipients, damages could total $25,000,000! Why not turn all those junk faxes into a college fund for your kids?” (Jun. 30).
Demand: let my service dog onto your nude beach
Mark DelCore, 39, says in his federal lawsuit that he has a medical need to sunbathe at the Fire Island nude beach because of a skin condition. The beach rules allow for seeing-eye dogs, but DelCore’s is an “emotional support” dog (see May 14, etc.) who assists with post-traumatic stress he says he’s suffered since the 9/11 attacks. One big problem: it’s feared a greater dog presence at water’s edge would interfere with the doings of the piping plover, an endangered shorebird whose protection has already been cited as reason to suppress many human activities on Long Island beaches. (The Smoking Gun, Jul. 13). More: Ann Althouse, who has covered service-dog accommodation controversies in the past, is on this one too. Update: Jul. 22 (DelCore thinking of dropping suit).
Baltimore Examiner (& publicity roundup)
Lawsuits filed against the city of Baltimore demand hundreds of millions of dollars, but the city pays out only a minute fraction of that sum — one of many reasons being that “the city caps awards for lawsuits at $200,000, save for intentional bad acts by city employees.” An editorial in the Baltimore Examiner quotes me on the subject (“Slow lawsuits; charge losers fees”, Jul. 13). For more on New York City’s tort predicament, see Jun. 15.
Last month Overlawyered.com was named “Web Site of the Day” by the Bulletin Board at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, one of the Twin Cities’ two big papers (Jun. 2). The British publication The Lawyer cited our coverage of Bill Lerach’s Enron fees (Jun. 5). And New York-based journalist Robert A. George (the “good” Robert George) calls this website “great”, though he erroneously thinks me a lawyer (Jun. 5).
I’ve also been quoted on same-sex marriage issues in a variety of venues, including by Lou Chibbaro Jr. in the Washington Blade (“Amendment bars states from marrying gay couples: experts”, Apr. 20); Jonathan Rauch at MarriageDebate.com (May 6); Andy Humm, “Gay Marriage Ruling Highlights a Changing Court”, Gotham Gazette, Jul. 10); and the Robert A. George post above. For more of my views on that subject, see Jun. 2, etc.
Red Buttons, 1919-2006
Red Buttons died yesterday. He was an Oscar-winner and famous comedian, but we at Overlawyered will remember him for suing Conan O’Brien for mentioning him in a 1993 sketch. Portions of the opinion in Buttons v. National Broadcasting Co. Inc. (No. CV94-0354 (C.D. Cal.)) (via my brother) are after the jump:
“File when ready”
It’s best to choose your words carefully when writing about this aspiring Delaware politician. “Lawsuits have been a big part of Korn’s life for the better part of two decades….’I would sue anybody again if I had to, if something were not right or accurate,’ Korn said. ‘I will go to the ends of what it takes if I feel I’ve been slandered, libeled or maligned in any way.'” (Celia Cohen, Delaware Grapevine, Jun. 26).
Transit union not liable for bicyclist’s accident
New York City: “A judge has dismissed a lawsuit that claimed the union representing the city’s bus and subway workers was responsible for an accident that left a firefighter critically injured because workers went on strike. Matthew Long, 39, was run over by a private bus while he was bicycling to work during the December walkout. He sued the Transport Workers Union Local 100 in February, arguing the accident would not have happened had the union not gone on strike.” (“Judge dismisses firefighter’s lawsuit claiming strike responsible for injury”, AP/CourtTV, Jul. 7). For more on the lawsuit, see “Firefighter wants transit union to pay”, Gothamist, Feb. 14.
Parents’ liability for kids’ drinking in homes
Drexel lawprof Dan Filler at Concurring Opinions reports (Jul. 6) that Mountain Brook, Ala., a well-off suburb of Birmingham,
is considering adopting a new “open house party” ordinance. It would fine homeowners when two or more underage people drink alcohol in the house. On the third offense, the law provides that the homeowners would be guilty of a misdemeanor. Homeowners, by which we really mean parents, would be criminally liable even if they were unaware that kids were drinking in their homes. They are strictly liable – guilty even if they had no intent to break the law, had no knowledge it was being broken, and were not even negligent in allowing the infraction to occur.
Prof. Filler isn’t enthusiastic about the idea:
If a parent is not negligent – she does every single thing a reasonable person would do to keep her child in check – I think it’s hard to justify punishing her. What more can we ask of a parent?
Ted Frank vs. Peter Nordberg on med-mal
Over at Point of Law, there’s a new Featured Discussion on medical malpractice: our own Ted Frank expands on his theory that it might be a good idea for doctors to benefit from something akin to the “business judgment rule”, by which courts refrain from second-guessing many decisions of corporate directors and officers in shareholder litigation. Ably representing the opposite point of view is Peter Nordberg, whose Daubert on the Web and Blog 702 cover scientific evidence issues in the courts with unrivaled depth.
Federal prosecutors
Wanland v. Mastagni, Holdstedt & Chiurazzi
This complicated case “starts with what would be universally recognized as the worst of all possible worlds — an automobile accident between two lawyer-affiliated people”. And from there it gets worse, and worse, and worse. (Shaun Martin, California Appellate Report, Jul. 7).